BLACKWOOD – Breanna Vanaman reflected on the difficult time six years ago that influenced her decision to enter the Catholic Church as she glanced at the words tattooed on her left forearm: “Sometimes the greater plan is kinda hard to understand.”
“My father died in 2018, and that was from a song at his funeral,” she said of the lyrics from country singer Luke Bryan. “Later, I realized it was similar to Jeremiah [29:11]: ‘For I know the plans I have for you … plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’
“I then started reading the Bible, making connections to when God was present in my life,” she continued.
Last fall, the Stockton University junior and Catholic Campus Ministry member began taking classes as part of Rite of Christian Initiation, a process through which non-baptized Christians enter the Catholic Church.
On Feb. 18, that journey brought her to Our Lady of Hope Parish, where Bishop Dennis Sullivan presided over the Rite of Election. Here, Vanaman and 146 other women and men from 34 parishes across the Diocese of Camden affirmed in front of the Bishop, their sponsors, families, catechists and pastors that they “have heard the call of Christ [and are] ready to fully enter into the life of the Church … [having] faithfully listened to God’s Word … and begun to walk in His presence.”
Noting that the catechumens “represent our Church in all its beautiful diversity,” Bishop Sullivan responded that, indeed, “as pastor of the Church of Camden, I accept you into this local Church.”
“The spirit of God is at work in each of you, opening your hearts to the Gospel, opening your lives to follow Jesus Christ, and to enter the one true Church – the Catholic Church,” he said during the bilingual service.
In a little less than six weeks, at the Easter Vigil, these women and men will receive the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Eucharist and Confirmation) at their respective parishes.
“It’s such a beautiful day; I’m enjoying it to the fullest,” said an emotional Rolando Garcia, a catechumen from Saint Thomas the Apostle Parish, Brigantine.
A native of Puerto Rico, the 51-year-old remembers attending Mass with his grandmother and single mother for the first five years of his life. He never received any of the sacraments. What brought him back to the faith, however, was an answered prayer.
Lingering resentment and anger over an absent father led Garcia to look to other places for love and affection during this life, including “drugs, women, cars and money … to fill my empty soul,” he said.
When his father died two years ago, he began praying and asking God “to give me the power to forgive.”
These days, he said, his soul is at peace, which is one reason he began the RCIA process last fall. “I have found something I always knew was missing,” he said. “God has answered my prayer; I want Him more than anything.”
Garcia – who was accompanied at the Rite of Election by his sponsor, Ed Stafford, and Deacon Len Long, Saint Thomas the Apostle RCIA director – joined his fellow catechumens in receiving a blessing from Bishop Sullivan. In addition, the parishes presented Bishop Sullivan with their Books of the Elect, signed by the catechumens to mark their commitment to be Christ’s disciples.
Before heading back to Galloway Township, Vanaman said goodbyes to Stockton Catholic Campus Minister Britany Shields, CCM chaplain Father Renante “Ren” Orain, A.M., and sponsor Connor Morgan, all friends and supporters along what she calls a “humbling, beautiful journey.”
After all, they were instrumental to her faith story. Her interactions with peers and mentors, “seeing the powerful impact that entering the Church and following the faith that I wanted can have,” as well as her participation in the campus ministry’s spring retreat, “have strengthened my faith,” Vanaman said.
Morgan, a senior at Stockton, has observed Vanaman along this faith journey. “It’s really been wonderful to watch her grow, with what she’s learning about the Church.”
The Catholic Campus Ministry friends are looking forward to March 30, where at Saint Katharine Drexel Parish, Egg Harbor Township, Vanaman will enter into full communion in the Catholic Church.
For Vanaman, that Easter Vigil can’t come soon enough, as she’s already living the joy of Christ. “I’m not just celebrating now or at the Vigil, but every day, knowing I have the opportunity to receive Jesus.”
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